Although this is the Primary Election, you do NOT have to declare a party in order to vote on the Referendum. There will be a Democrat ballot, a Republican ballot, and a non-partisan ballot available and it is your choice which one is given to you.
If you never voted, or, if you moved or changed your name since last voting, you must register to vote before midnight, April 7, 2014. Any new voter must be at least 18 by November 4, 2014, and be a US Citizen. [edited to add comment of alert reader -- if you are not 18 by May 6, you may NOT vote on the referendum. You can vote for either Democrat or Republican primary contestants if you will be 18 by November 4.]
I have heard all sorts of stories from folks who came into the polling location on Election Day, who swore they were registered by the BMV or someone at a Fair, but whose registration never made it into the books. Those folks only had one option - vote a provisional ballot and bring proof of registration to the County Election Board - likely their vote did not get counted.
New rules make getting registered in a voter registration drive quite tricky. The best way to be sure your registration gets properly put onto the voter rolls, is to go to the Marion County Voter Registration office in person (City-County Building, 1st Floor), print off a registration form from the State's website and mail it in to the Marion County Voter Registration office yourself, or sign up online.
The easiest of these ways to register is on the State's website : www.IndianaVoters.com
On the home page you can check to see if you are registered at your address and with your current name, you can register to vote in Indiana, you can change your registration to reflect the fact you changed your address or name, you can find your polling place, and you can preview the offices and names on the ballot.
All you will need is an Indiana Drivers License or ID Card with your current address on it.
#1 Register to vote.
#2 Check that your registration got into the system -- or -- that it is current and up to date.
Do both before April 7.
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2 comments:
Voters may vote in the partisan primary if they will be 18 by the General Election, but those under 18 at the time of the primary may not vote in the referendum. It's why there can be so many ballot styles in a primary (D, R, D under 18, R under 18, Non-Partisan).
Just another quirk of Indiana election law.
You are correct. Thanks for that input.
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